PHILADELPHIA -- It's no secret that the relationship between a manager and the front office is an important one.
Well, Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly may just have the best relationship ever between a field general and a general manager.
"I mean, I like the kid," Mattingly joked prior to his first game at the helm on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Of course, "the kid" is Mattingly's son, Preston, who has been the Phillies' general manager under president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski since 2024 -- and a member of the organization since 2021.
While having a strong relationship is typically a plus, this particular dynamic -- believed to be the first father-son manager-GM combo in MLB history -- obviously presents its share of questions.
Is that uncomfortable at all?
"It's not," Don Mattingly said. "We both want to win games. ... We're here to win, right? Our coaches are here to win. Players are here to win. Preston's here to win. Dave's here to win. I'm sure ownership is here to win, and the fans want to win."
Though Tuesday's managerial change obviously gives the elder Mattingly more responsibility, the Phillies likely never would have hired Mattingly as their new bench coach this offseason if they had any concerns about a potential conflict of interest.
“I'm not worried about anything coming from the clubhouse up to us that shouldn't,” Dombrowski said in January. “That is not a concern. I think you also have to be cognizant of the people that you're talking about and the credibility that they have. When you start talking about Don and Preston, you’re talking about two people that have immense credibility, and so there's nothing that's going to come down there. Confidentiality is still confidentiality.”
Similarly, Don left no doubt that his priority will be on his players and he'll approach the job just as he would with anyone else in the GM chair.
“I’m very protective of the locker room relationship. With players, they have to be able to trust that I’m not a voice that’s just running upstairs and talking about anything and everything,” Mattingly said when he was named bench coach. “That’s just not the way I operate. I came from a different era where that is not something that happens. I’m going to have to build that trust with players so that they’ll trust me that that’s not going to happen.”
Mattingly has had a few months now to build those relationships, though it's admittedly still a work in progress just one month into the regular season. Plus, as with any new manager, the change in leadership will likely take some getting used to for the players.
The same goes for the Mattinglys.
Despite Don being around Major League Baseball for more than 40 years and Preston for his entire life -- the two have never had a professional relationship quite like this one.
"Him and I are a little different," Don said. "Obviously, he looks at things -- he's a little outside the box at times, which I appreciate. It's helped me grow and things like that."
The first few months of working together within the same organization have gone well -- and Don sees no reason why Tuesday's news would negatively impact that.
After all, the two joined forces in Philadelphia to chase one common goal: Winning a World Series. Don came within one game of winning his first ring last season as the Blue Jays' bench coach, but he acknowledged this offseason that it was tough at times knowing that he and Preston were chasing the same thing -- but even in the best-case scenario, only one of them could win it all.
"I'm enjoying being here on the same team, fighting for the same thing," Don said, "instead of being on another team fighting for the same thing."